The measure compares the billable hourly rate of the City’s Attorney staff attorneys the billable hourly rate of private sector legal counsel hired by the City for both basic work and specialized work. Some of the City Attorney’s work must be outsourced to the private sector due to conflicts of interest or the specialized nature of legal work.

Why this is important:

The City Attorney tracks this indicator to determine the most efficient use of resources.

What is being done:

With a higher hourly billable rate for outsourcing, the City Law Department attempts to provide legal services in-house whenever possible. In-house workloads are being streamlined with the implementation of a case management system and recent addition of a paralegal in our Civil Division. In-house counsel also benefits our clients and the community by providing immediate access for the public and city departments and officers. The Citizen Information Center also helps to promote these events on the government access channels.

Source: City Attorneys Office

AG Goal5

3/27/2014

About this measure:

This measure identifies the amount of City funds annually recovered or saved through litigation by the City Law Department. Savings are derived by settling or denying claims against the city; defending the City from monetary damages in filed lawsuits; diligent contract enforcement; and legal representation in collection of delinquent special assessments and other obligations or payments due to the City. These direct financial benefits are compared to the total budget for all functions of the City Attorney’s Office. The City funds saved annually have been 2-3 times the Law Department’s entire budget even though the civil litigation functions represent only about 25% of the Department’s total activity.

Why this is important:

The protection of City funds relieves pressure on taxpayers to fund government. It is also a measure of the effectiveness of in-house legal counsel.